Reese on David Letterman, back to december 12. 2010. She talks about her new
movie, "How Do You Know", children, Jack Nicholson, Carrie Underwood and more.
Reese is ready to make it official with boyfriend Jim Toth: The couple are
engaged, PEOPLE confirms.
The Oscar-winning actress, 34, and Toth, 40, began quietly dating last January
and quickly grew serious about each other.
In October, a source close to Toth, an agent at Creative Artists Agency in Los
Angeles, told PEOPLE he was smitten with Witherspoon.
"Jim knows Reese is the one for him," the source said. "It's what he's been
waiting for. [Getting engaged] is a natural step for them."
Witherspoon was equally thrilled with the relationship, a source close to the
actress told PEOPLE at the time. "Reese quickly realized that Jim was someone
that she felt safe with and could count on," the source said.
Just as important, Toth bonded easily with Witherspoon's children, Ava, 11, and
Deacon, 7, who she had with her ex-husband Ryan Phillippe.
"They have vacationed together with Reese's kids and everyone [got] along great,"
the source added.
Months before that, a source close to Witherspoon described a relationship on
the fast track, with Witherspoon happy to be with someone "who's more mature and
in a place in his life where he's ready to settle down. I think for the first
time in a very long time, she feels as if she's with a grown-up."
Witherspoon's relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal ended in 2009. She split from
Phillippe in 2006 after seven years of marriage.
How do you know it’s not working? Ask Reese Witherspoon, who goes on the date
from hell in “How Do You Know.”
In real life, she says, “once I went on a blind date and he corrected my grammar.
I knew in the first 10 minutes that the date was over.”
In the new romantic comedy, Witherspoon plays an athlete who must chose between
two suitors played by Paul Rudd and Owen Wilson.
Q. What was it like to play a more non-sentimental woman who is confused about
love? A. It was interesting. I’ve done a lot of comedies
where the woman talks about the man. She runs around going, “What should I do?”
She cries to her girlfriends about love. The woman I play in this movie has a
hard time conveying her own emotions. She doesn’t even really want to talk about
things. She says to her boyfriend, played by Owen Wilson, “If I wake up in the
middle of the night crying, just ignore me.” No woman would say that in real
life to her boyfriend! I usually play more verbal characters. This woman is more
internal.
Q. You play a woman who is not that interested in settling down and getting
married. Can you relate? A. I have a lot of friends like that. This role was
written so beautifully. I love that she’s not afraid to be honest about not
wanting what other women want. Obviously, it’s not like me. I have two kids and
a very settled-down life.
Q. Your softball player character must leave the sports biz because she’s
getting older. Ever worry about aging in Hollywood? A. It’s a parallel to being an actor. As a woman, we
have a time. It’s our time to work, we work a lot, and then hopefully you shift
and become the Meryl Streeps or Diane Keatons of this business. I do know
actresses have a shelf life and an expiration date.
Check out the newest interview with James L. Brookes, who worked with Reese..
SheKnows: You’ve obviously worked with Jack several times. Do you ever write
with a specific actor in mind?
James L. Brooks: I have. In As Good as it Gets there was no way the movie could
be made with out Jack Nickolson. I think that was true and I knew it from the
beginning. In Starting Over I was hoping Jack would do that movie and it didn’t
happen. Tea Leoni is someone I approached early on for Spanglish. Reese [Witherspoon]
on this movie. I think that’s pretty much it, where I started with an idea for
somebody.
SheKnows: Working with Reese Witherspoon, I know you said that you thought of
her for this role. When an actress like that says yes let’s do it, that’s got to
infuse you with excitement for the project.
James L. Brooks: It’s not quite like that, actually [laughs]. It’s like I feel
myself a slave to the project. I feel that I feel an enormous responsibility to
the actors. I think one of the most devastating things that could happen to me,
and there are a lot of devastating things that can happen to you when making a
movie, is that if an actor was unhappy with having been in a movie. I feel that
responsibility very much. But my job is to serve it. This is not about me. It’s
out there and we’re all together out there. So I don’t think about it quite that
way. If you do feel that stuff, it falls to the side of the work very quickly.
You’re a human being trying to get it right.
Reese Witherspoon talks about “How Do You Know”
Author: Jess | Category: "How Do You Know?", Articles & Interviews | Comments: 0
/ Write One
Watching Reese Witherspoon work the red carpet at the premiere of her new film,
“How Do You Know,” like a cheery little munchkin, 5 feet nothing and shrinking,
you can’t help but think:
This girl is so not a member of Team USA Softball.
But that’s exactly what the actress plays, and believably, in the film from
Academy Award-winning writer-director James L. Brooks (“Terms of Endearment,”
“As Good as it Gets”). The old-fashioned romantic-comedy (in theaters Friday)
hinges on Witherspoon’s Lisa, a hyper-driven USA Softball stalwart who, at 31,
is forced to re-examine her life — and her relationship with a happy-go-lucky
Washington Nationals relief pitcher played by Owen Wilson — when she’s cut from
the team.
“Coming in, my softball skills were slim to none,” Witherspoon said. “Now,
they’re better. Definitely not good, but better.”
For that, Witherspoon gives credit to some of the sports biggest names. The
Oscar-winner (for “Walk the Line”) didn’t take the role lightly, enlisting
gamers like Jennie Finch and Natasha Watley and legendary UCLA women’s softball
coach Sue Enquist to help her climb into her character’s skin. Cleats, too.
“It was a lot of fun getting Reese ready for the movie,” said Finch, who worked
with the actress during pre-production at UCLA and walked the carpet just a
short-hop from co-star Jack Nicholson. “It was awesome seeing her take the whole
thing on and being an amazing representative for softball, doing awesome stuff
out there on the field, diving, getting ground balls. She could totally handle
her business. I’d take her on my team any day.”
“I’d pick her over Owen Wilson, for sure,” kidded Enquist, who worked with the
actress three days a week for a period of several months. “She came to it with
no skill or experience and really went for it. I was so impressed with her guts,
her level of commitment to the character overall — the grit, the passion, what
it means to be a teammate. Everyone knows Reese as a petite actress, but pound-for-pound,
she’s impressive.”
“They were so awesome for letting me onto their field and into their world,”
Witherspoon added, before noting, with a tinge of regret, that very little game
footage — maybe 20 seconds — found its way to the screen.
Wasn’t a total waste, though.
“Maybe I’ll give church softball a try.”
Reese Witherspoon says many sweet things about Robert Pattinson when
comparing working with him to working with Owen Wilson and Paul Rudd at the LA
premiere of How Do You Know.
Reese says “chasing boys” is good fun, especially when you’re young.
The 34-year-old actress has previously romanced film star Jake Gyllenhaal and
was married to actor Ryan Phillippe with whom she has two children; Ava, 11, and
Deacon, seven.
Reese is currently dating Hollywood agent Jim Toth, and admits she has become
wiser about romance as she has grown older. The beauty thinks flirting and
pursuing potential suitors can be really enjoyable, and shouldn’t be taken too
seriously during a person’s young, free and single days.
“Because boy is it fun, chasing boys – especially when
you’re young,” she laughed.
Reese recalled a moment when one of her pals explained to her how essential it
is to realise when a man is attracted to you. The friend warned Reese it’s far
more important to consider men who are chasing you, rather than wasting efforts
on those who aren’t interested.
“You know, don’t follow the guy you’re chasing, look at
the guy who’s chasing you. I think that takes time, and sort of life experience
to notice,” explained Reese.
Reese Witherspoon’s two children were left horrified when they saw their
mother knocked to the ground in a freak softball accident, which left her with a
black eye and a bloody nose.
The Hollywood actress was practicing for her role in new movie “How Do You Know”
last year by playing a game of softball at home with her family and friends.
But the game ended in agony for Witherspoon after she was hit in the face with
the ball.
The “Legally Blonde” star fell to the ground and was left covered in blood, much
to the horror of her daughter, Ava, and son, Deacon, who both witnessed the
shocking injury.
Witherspoon tells Access Hollywood, “I got popped in the eye. I got a black eye.
Oh, I got a bloody nose… I was just practicing at home with friends and stuff
and I just, you know, throw to keep my arm in shape and stuff…
“They (my kids) were there when I got it and I hit the
ground – that freaked them out a little bit.”
But Witherspoon admits her kids later felt proud of their mom’s wounds, adding:
“They thought it was cool. It’s like I’m the only mom at
school with a black eye!”
Reese Witherspoon became a household name in the late ’90s with a string of
scene-stealing turns in films like “Pleasantville” and “Election.” Around the
same time, Leonardo DiCaprio was transforming from teen heartthrob to mature
Hollywood A-lister, thanks to the nearly $2 billion success of “Titanic.”
Over a decade later, Witherspoon has been thinking back to that pop culture
period. It’s the only way she can make sense of the overwhelming popularity of
her “Water for Elephants” co-star Robert Pattinson.
“The only thing I can compare it to is when Leo was in
‘Titanic,’ ” she told MTV News while promoting her upcoming movie “How Do
You Know.” “It was that kind of fervor about a person. The women lining up
outside the set — it was just unbelievable — till 5 o’clock in the morning
waiting to just glimpse him.”
The Tennessee set of “Water for Elephants” was basically no different than what
happens when the “Twilight” vamp goes anywhere. As director Francis Lawrence
told us in the fall, “[E]very day there would be, like, 50 people [staked out] …
. [T]here would be people camped out in the hallways of our hotel. All day, all
night long, it didn’t matter. People were there to try to catch a glimpse.”
Witherspoon, of course, got an up-close-and-personal glimpse of RPattz, and she
was happy to report back to us: “He is extraordinarily attractive. I’m not gonna
lie,” she said.
“Robert is such a great guy from a great family,” she
explained. “That’s the thing that’s so funny. He’s not really this bad boy; he’s
just a great guy and really worked hard on ‘Water for Elephants.’ He really
worked long hours, long days. He looks totally different in the movie.”
Reese Witherspoon was all smiles as she received a coveted star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The actress posed with her two children Ava, 11, and Deacon, seven, during the
Induction Ceremony in front of the W Hotel in Los Angeles.
The Sweet Home Alabama star received the 2,425th star as family members and
close friends looked on proudly.
Even her co-star furry friend Bruiser from Legally Blond
was there.
Reese looked stunning in a black and red Dolce & Gabbana polka dot dress and red
peep-toe heels.
Her boyfriend Jim Toth was also on hand to lend his support. In the January
issue of Glamour magazine, the 34-year-old opens up about her new man and about
feeling sexier than ever.
'Every relationship has its own dynamic. And I don’t want to disparage any of
the other relationships that I’ve had that were meaningful and wonderful.
'But what I’m finding out is that it’s very comfortable to be with somebody who
understands my career, but doesn’t do what I do. He’s a great guy. He’s
wonderful.
But she also revealed that she would like to have more children.
'I would love to have more kids. Kids are the best part of my day. I don’t wake
up to make movies. I wake up to hang out with my family.'
'I’m really, really lucky. I’ve got a lot of love in my life,' she shares. 'I’ve
got great friends. I have two great kids whom I make pancakes for every Sunday.
I’m very blessed.'
Having endured a divorce from fellow actor Ryan Philippe in 2007 and a break-up
with Jake Gyllenhaal in 2009, Witherspoon has apparently now come into her own
and is feeling settled.
'I think as a woman, you get older, you feel more confident in your sexuality,'
Witherspoon said.
'You’re not as intimidated by it, not as embarrassed by it. Sexuality and
femininity is an accumulation of age and wisdom and comfort in your own skin.'
And although happy to embrace her sexy side, Witherspoon says that it is more
important to be funny. 'There’s always going to be somebody younger or sexier.
That’s why I like to say, and it’s become my famous line, "Funny doesn’t sag."'
The actress has always maintained momentum in her career shooting four films
this year alone.
She has starred in 25 films and produced five - not to mention receiving an
Oscar for her role in Walk The Line in 2006.
Next year she is already lined up for six more with another seven more in
development.
Her latest film How Do You Know hits theatres on December 17.
Nice start for Glamour Magazine in new year, what do you think? :)
Reese
Witherspoon: Hot, Happy and Having a Blast
Reese Witherspoon has starred in 25 films (and produced five), birthed two kids
and won an Oscar. So why does it seem like Reese’s life is just beginning? She
talks to Glamour about men, moves and finding her mojo. Read the interview, then
check out the pics from her photo shoot.
by Skip Hollandsworth
Reese Witherspoon walks into Cookshop, a restaurant in New York City’s Chelsea
neighborhood, bearing a gift: a small box of chocolates. When I say I’ll always
cherish them, she cocks her head, levels her blue eyes on me and cheerfully
snaps, “You’d better eat them.” At the age of 34, she is as tiny as a kitten,
barely 5’2”. But it doesn’t take long to realize there is nothing fragile about
her. She whips off her gray sock hat, orders chicken soup and is soon recounting
the seven months she spent training with the UCLA softball team to prepare for
her latest romantic comedy, How Do You Know, in which she plays a former star
athlete transitioning out of her twenties. Witherspoon, too, went through a
significant transition as she entered her thirties: a divorce from actor Ryan
Phillippe, the father of her two children. Afterward, she took a break from
acting; a two-year relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal came to an end in 2009. But
now she is quietly involved with Hollywood agent Jim Toth (who, at press time,
she tells Glamour she’s not engaged to) and back to working full-time. And she’s
ready to open up. Maybe it was all that softball, but Witherspoon happily took a
swing at every question thrown at her.
GLAMOUR: First off, let’s talk about this photo shoot. I don’t recall you doing
these kinds of photos in your twenties. Do you feel sexier at 34 than you did a
decade ago?
REESE WITHERSPOON: Much. I was always, as a younger
actress, very conscious of not wanting to act sexy. I didn’t see myself like
that. But I think as a woman, you get older, you feel more confident in your
sexuality. You’re not as intimidated by it, not as embarrassed by it. Sexuality
and femininity is an accumulation of age and wisdom and comfort in your own
skin. I feel better—so much better now than I ever did in my twenties. I am
calmer; I know who I am. And as a result, I feel much sexier.
GLAMOUR: Sexier in the way that you look at yourself in the mirror and say, “I
look good”?
REESE WITHERSPOON: It’s more like, “This is what I’ve got.
And I’m going to make the best of it.” There’s always going to be somebody
younger or sexier. That’s why I like to say, and it’s become my famous line,
“Funny doesn’t sag.” When somebody comes up to me and says, “You look hot in
that movie,” I always respond, “But was I funny?” For me, it’s not really about
how you look but about the joy or the bit of light that you bring to whatever
you do. I know I’m just more attracted to people who have a light about them.
GLAMOUR: Speaking of being attracted to someone, is it easier to date a
noncelebrity than a celebrity?
REESE WITHERSPOON: I have a little perspective on this. I
wouldn’t say it’s easier. Every relationship has its own dynamic. And I don’t
want to disparage any of the other relationships that I’ve had that were
meaningful and wonderful. But what I’m finding out is that it’s very comfortable
to be with somebody who understands my career, but doesn’t do what I do. He’s a
great guy. He’s wonderful.
GLAMOUR: Obviously the paparazzi and the tabloids are obsessed. How do you
handle it? Do you have to stage-manage your life, like figuring out obscure
places to go for dinner?
REESE WITHERSPOON: No, we just go out to dinner. Not that
we go to fancy restaurants. The ones we go to, we don’t get bothered all that
much.
GLAMOUR: Now that your two kids are getting older [Witherspoon’s daughter, Ava,
is 11, and her son, Deacon, is 7], how do you keep them from being exposed to
all the gossip?
REESE WITHERSPOON: We have one computer that they have to
share, and it literally has every blocker you can possibly have on it. I’ve even
gone into the parental controls and typed in gossip websites, specific things
they cannot search, my name, their names, all sorts of things.
GLAMOUR: Still, if Ava googles you on a different computer, what’s going to come
up first?
REESE WITHERSPOON: I don’t know. Right now it probably
says I’m getting married [laughs], which isn’t true.
GLAMOUR: I read that the median age for women who get divorced for the first
time is right around 30 years old….
REESE WITHERSPOON: [Laughs.] There’s this great book
called How to Get Divorced by 30. It’s hysterical. I’ve read it a couple of
times. And I think I could have written it.
GLAMOUR: So what advice would you give a woman who is going through something
like that?
REESE WITHERSPOON: I always say that it’s very important
not to blame one person. You have to own whatever part of it you’re responsible
for. It takes a lot of soul-searching. It’s important to go through that,
because hopefully you won’t repeat yourself.
GLAMOUR: What have you learned?
REESE WITHERSPOON: I’m a very, very optimistic person, and
I feel very lucky to have the chance to try again, you know?
GLAMOUR: Would you ever have children again?
REESE WITHERSPOON: Sure, I would love to have more kids.
Kids are the best part of my day. I don’t wake up to make movies. I wake up to
hang out with my family.
GLAMOUR: You’re at an age now when the majority of Hollywood actresses are just
beginning to ponder the idea of having a child.
REESE WITHERSPOON: Well, Skip, I’m from Tennessee. We have
kids early. Both of my pregnancies were easy. I didn’t know anything; I just
went into it. I never held a baby until I held my own baby.
GLAMOUR: Seriously?
REESE WITHERSPOON: Seriously.
GLAMOUR: It’s now been 10 years since Legally Blonde. You’ve talked before about
how you were so driven early on to make your mark as an actress. Do you still
feel that same drive at 34?
REESE WITHERSPOON: I was pretty myopic when I started in
the movie business. And now my interests have expanded. I haven’t lost my
ambition. I would just say my ambition has sort of broadened. I’m more
interested in literature, art, public policy. And I’m really interested in doing
more philanthropic endeavors. I think my work with Avon [supporting women
internationally] opened my eyes. When you learn that one in three women
worldwide is affected by violence…I mean, that’s everybody’s mother, sister or
best friend, and their children, too. A cycle of abuse gets started that never
ends. People go, “[Domestic abuse] would never happen to me because I’m too
smart,” but it’s usually very, very smart women that this happens to.
GLAMOUR: You won the Oscar in 2006 [for Walk the Line], but there’s obviously
still a part of you that loves doing romantic comedies.
REESE WITHERSPOON: I love romantic comedies. I watch them
all the time. I love all my fellow female romantic queens, like Jennifer Aniston,
Jennifer Garner and Katie Heigl. I also think that the questions romantic
comedies ask about men and women are universal. Someone will say to me, “I see
you’re in another romantic comedy. Haven’t you done that movie before?” But I
think about my daughter. She has never seen When Harry Met Sally. When she sees
her generation’s version of that film, it will be the first time for her, and
she’ll find it mind-blowing that someone managed to chronicle deep personal
thoughts on relationships into a film.
GLAMOUR: Everything seems to be going so well for you. Right now, what would you
say you love most about your life?
REESE WITHERSPOON: Sunday mornings. Even when I was a
child, Sunday morning was a barometer for how the week was going to go. You can
learn a lot about yourself with what you’re doing and who you’re with on a
Sunday, I think. I’m really, really lucky. I’ve got a lot of love in my life.
I’ve got great friends. I have two great kids whom I make pancakes for every
Sunday. I’m very blessed.
As you know Reese´s new movie Water for Elephants comming soon. (Reese as
Marlena, Robert Pattinson as Jacob, and Christoph Waltz as August). Here´s the
synopsis:
As a young man, Jacob Jankowski
(Robert Pattinson) was tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the
Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. It was the early part of the
great Depression, and for Jacob, now ninety, the circus world he remembers was
both his salvation and a living hell. A veterinary student just shy of a degree,
he was put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie.
It was there that he met Marlena (Reese Witherspoon), the beautiful equestrian
star married to August (Christoph Waltz), the charismatic but twisted animal
trainer. And he met Rosie, an un-trainable elephant who was the great gray hope
for this third-rate traveling show. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio
was one of love and trust, and, ultimately, it was their only hope for survival.
Sorry for a loooong hiatus guys. I was so busy w/ my school stuff, but now
I´m back and ready for being your number one source for everything about Reese.
Reese
Witherspoon: Hot, Happy and Having a Blast